Here is something that will surprise most people. Your nominee is not the owner of your bank account, mutual funds, or shares after you die. I know. You filled out that form. You wrote your spouse's name or your kid's name. You thought you were done. But you are not. The nominee is just a custodian, a temporary holder. The legal heirs as per your Will, or succession laws if you have no Will, are the real owners. The nominee's job is to collect the asset and hand it over. That is it.
Let me say that again because it matters. Nomination does not equal ownership. When you nominate someone for your bank account, you are telling the bank who should receive the money. But that person receives it on behalf of the legal heirs. If your Will says your assets should be split 50-50 between your two children, and you nominated only your spouse, your spouse cannot keep it all. She has to distribute it according to the Will. If there is no Will, she has to follow the succession laws. The nominee is like a postman. They deliver the package. They do not get to keep it.
There are exceptions though. For life insurance, a "Beneficial Nominee" gets special treatment. If you nominate your spouse, parents, or children as beneficial nominees, they generally get absolute ownership. The money is theirs. No need to hand it over to other legal heirs. This was a change brought in a few years ago to simplify things. So for insurance, your nomination can actually mean ownership. Good to know.
For company shares, it gets messy. There is conflicting case law. Some judgments say the nominee gets full ownership. Others say the nominee holds it for the legal heirs. Until the courts or the law clarify this, you cannot assume your share nominee will get to keep the shares. The safest approach is to have your Will and your share nomination aligned. If you want your son to get your shares, nominate him and say so in your Will. That way there is no confusion.
The good news is that the Banking Laws Amendment 2025 lets you appoint up to four nominees now, with percentage splits or a hierarchy. So you can say spouse gets 50%, child one gets 25%, child two gets 25%. Or you can set a hierarchy: spouse first, then children if spouse is not alive. This is great because it helps align your nominations with your Will. You can make sure the right people get the right things without leaving it to chance.
But the point remains. Nomination is not a substitute for a Will. It is a convenience. It helps your family access the assets quickly without going through probate or court. But it does not override your Will. If your Will says something different from your nomination, the Will wins. So do both. Update your nominations to match your wishes, and write a proper Will. That way your family does not end up in a fight, and your assets go where you want them to go.
I have heard too many stories of families fighting because someone assumed the nominee would get everything. Or because the nominee thought they could keep it all and the legal heirs had other ideas. Save your family the headache. Get your nominations right, and write a Will. Your future self, and your loved ones, will thank you.